White House economic advisor Alan Krueger to step down

Jim Puzzanghera and Christi Parsons

WASHINGTON -- One of President Obama's top economic advisors, Alan Krueger, will step down this fall and White House aide Jason Furman will be nominated as his replacement, a Democratic official said Tuesday.

Krueger plans to return to teaching at Princeton, where he is on leave from his position as an economics professor, according to the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the departure had not been officially announced.

A labor market expert and former Treasury official, Krueger has chaired the White House Council of Economic Advisors since November 2011.